Life after the Vacation
by mattie7
Summary: It's just that… if it were me and someone gave me this huge chance with hockey, I would take it in a heartbeat… and I know that dance to you is what hockey is to me, so why shouldn't you go for it?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! This is my first ever Life with Derek fic and only the second fic I've ever written so please bare with me. This takes place right after Vacation with Derek. Please review and let me know what you think and if I should continue. I kind of ended it at an awkward spot, but I didn't really know where to cut it off and I didn't want to do the whole cliffhanger thing. Anyway... on to the story!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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><p>"So, what are you going to do?" Derek asked her and he stepped onto the porch and stood beside her.<p>

The McDonald-Venturi family had just gotten back from their vacation at the Blue Heron Lodge. The week had passed by so quickly and so much had happened that Casey was still struggling to soak it all up.

"I don't know… every time I think I've made a decision, I think of 5 million reasons of why I should go the other way."

"Well, do you want to hear what I think?"

"Do I ever want to hear what you think?" Casey asked with an eye roll.

"Because I'm the best step brother ever, I'm going to ignore your condescending sarcasm and tell you anyway."

"Wow, you know what the word condescending means?" Casey quickly countered.

"Anyway… I think that you should go," Derek finished seriously.

Casey turned to look at Derek. She was surprised that he was so willingly giving her advice that she figured he was just trying to confuse her and make her second guess herself. But what she saw when she looked at him made those thoughts come to a halt. Derek was looking straight at her, and when his eyes found hers, Casey saw that look he got in his eyes right before or while he was doing something geniunely nice for her. Casey could count on one hand, okay maybe two she admitted to herself, how many times he had done something truly kind for her.

"You're serious," she said.

Derek sighed and almost looked pained to say was he was going to say next.

"It's just that… if it were me and someone gave me this huge chance with hockey, I would take it in a heartbeat… and I know that dance to you is what hockey is to me, so why shouldn't you go for it? Plus, you can go to school whenever, it'll always be there, but dance? You've got like maybe a couple more years before you get all old and wrinkly and no one will want to watch you dance."

"Haha, very funny."

"I'm just calling it how it is, Case."

"Whatever. Despite your attempt to make me feel bad about myself, you were surprisingly… helpful."

"I do what I can," Derek replied with a smug smirk.

Casey took one final look at the late night sky, pat Derek on the back, and made her way back inside to go to bed. She had a lot to think about, but she knew from the beginning what choice she would make and Derek had helped confirm that choice.

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><p>The next morning, when Casey made her way downstairs the family was unpacking the van and their suitcases. It had been too late to make any of the kids stay up to unpack the night before, and the George and Nora didn't want to deal with cranky kids at midnight. Instead, they were dealing with cranky kids at 11 in the morning.<p>

"Look, the creature from the blue lagoon is finally up and can take my place!" Derek exclaimed as Casey made her way to the kitchen to grab some juice.

"Actually, I woke up before everyone and grabbed my suitcases from the car already. They're all unpacked and my laundry is even done… so it's all yours, Derek."

"Honey, then what have you been doing all morning?" Nora asked.

"I was making some phone calls and finalizing some plans."

At that, the whole family stopped in their tracks and looked at Casey with shocked expressions.

"What? No Casey meltdown? " Lizzie asked.

"Yeah, where's the flip charts and pros and cons lists?" Edwin added.

"I didn't need them. I decided I needed to make this decision levelheaded and maturely," Casey answered confidently.

"Um, okay… and that decision would be?" George finally asked.

"Well… I'm going to New York!" Casey shrieked excitedly.

Immediately, the house erupted in cheers and chaos as everyone jumped over luggage and bumped into each other on their way to hug Casey.

"Come on, Derek! Group hug!" Marti said.

"Guys, you know how I feel about hugs… I don't do them."

Casey broke away from the family and ran to Derek with open arms. Before Derek knew what was happening, Casey had jumped on him and had thrown her arms around his neck. Derek was too shocked to say or do anything, and Casey hung on tight. Before she let him go, she whispered a quiet "thank you" and lightly kissed his cheek. And then she ran away and went back to the family as if she hadn't just violated everyone of Derek's rules.

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><p>"What am I going to do without you?" Emily whined as she, Sam, Casey and Derek sat in a booth at Smelly Nelly's.<p>

"Um, have a real social life?" Derek answered as he shoveled French fries into his mouth.

"De-rek! We're having a real conversation here, with actual emotions… something you would know nothing about… so butt out!" Casey scolded.

"Emily knows I'm kidding, don't you?" He winked at her.

Emily just gave him a knowing smile, followed by a stern look to appease the annoyed Casey that was glaring at her. Derek and Emily had mutually broken up a month prior, but seemed to have remained flirting buddies, much to Casey's dismay.

"Whatever, I'm going to the bathroom." Casey announced as she stood up. "Don't you there mess with my food when it gets here, Derek."

As soon as Casey left, Derek pulled out a large map, while Sam took out a small notebook and flipped it to a specific page.

"What are you guys doing?" Emily asked nervously.

"Planning our road trip," Derek answered as if was the most obvious thing in the world.

Sam, knowing that Derek's explanation was inadequate, took pity on Emily and proceeded to explain.

"We've got less than 8 weeks left with Casey, so we figured that we could kidnap her for a week and all of us could go on a road trip. It'll be our last big hoorah with her before she leaves".

Emily looked over at the Derek a little skeptically. Sure, they had all become really good friends, and Derek did do nice things for Casey from time to time, but he was actually actively planning a trip for her?

"Plus, it's an unsupervised road trip. Can you say partaay?" Derek added with a grin at Emily's look.

"That is so exciting! Where are we going?" Emily asked enthusiastically.

"Well, one of my uncles lives in Virginia and he owns a beach house down there. He always invites me to stay down there, but it was kind of pointless since I've only ever been to Virginia once. But now, I guess it came in handy finally," answered Sam.

"So now, we're just planning were we want to make stops and figuring out which places would be cool to visit," Derek added as he scanned the map.

"That is so awesome!" Emily concluded.

Casey made her way out of the bathroom, and Sam and Derek quickly put their planning tools away. Soon, Casey's turkey burger made it onto their table and Derek snatched a couple fries.

"De-rek! What did I tell you about touching my food!" Casey yelled.

"Actually, I believe you told me not to 'mess' with your food. I was not messing with it, I was simply appreciating its deliciousness."

Six pairs of eyes rolled at the same time, but Derek simply ignored them as he continued to blatantly steal fries from Casey's plate.

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><p>The night before the big trip, Casey was fast asleep as Derek was packing up the Prince.<p>

"Here's Casey's stuff," Nora said as she came out to hand Derek the luggage. "Lizzie's packing up all her toiletries now."

"Thanks, Nora," Derek responded as he made room in the trunk for Casey's bags.

"You know, Derek, I think that it's really nice that you're doing this for her," Nora smiled as she watched him.

"I'm not doing this for her," Derek said nonchalantly.

"Of course not," Nora said as she turned around to walk back in the house. She smirked to herself and shook her head at his stubbornness.

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><p>"Caseeeyyyy!" Derek shouted as he ripped the covers off of her.<p>

"What the—" Casey began.

"It's time to get up!"

Casey sat up feeling very disoriented. Why was Derek in her room waking her up at…what time was it anyway? She always woke up before Derek. She glanced at her clock, while Derek gathered clothes for her to wear.

"De-rek! It's 4 am! What the hell are you doing up? _I_ don't even wake up this early!"

"Who said I went to sleep? Here, put these on."

Derek threw some clothes at a very confused Casey. She stared at the clothes on her lap as if they were foreign objects from another planet.

"Hellooo, is anybody there?" Derek asked as he waved a hand in front of her face. "We need to leave in like 5 minutes. I'll turn around while you get dressed."

Casey rose from the bed and stalked over to Derek in frustration.

"What on earth makes you think that I'm going anywhere with you at 4 in the morning?"

Derek turned around and stepped closer to her. Leaning in slightly, he looked deeply into her eyes.

"Do you trust me?" He asked quietly.

She stared into his and came to a horrific realization. Somehow through the years, she had come to trust her stepbrother way too. She full-heartedly trusted him with her life.

"Unfortunately," she answered gloomily.

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><p>"Why do I have to switch seats with Sam? That's ridiculous!" Casey yelled at Derek from the passenger's seat.<p>

"Because women don't belong in the front seat… and you're horrible with maps!" Derek replied.

"I don't even know why you don't just use a GPS. Must be a caveman thing." Casey shook her head.

"Hey, so where are we stopping first?" Emily asked, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Niagara Falls," answered Sam as he pulled out his camera to the first official picture of the road trip. He pointed the camera at Derek and Casey and said, "smile!"

Both Casey and Derek turned at the red light and made faces at the camera. Soon the car was filled with the sounds of laughing, a camera clicking and the occasional "De-rek!"

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><p>As soon as they unlocked the door to their motel room, Emily pushed her way inside and ran to the bathroom.<p>

"Geez, you about ran me over!" Derek yelled at the closed bathroom door.

"Well, maybe if you had stopped to let the girls go to the bathroom…" Sam countered.

"Sam's right. You didn't have to make us hold it for 2 hours," Casey added as she joined them. She hadn't been able to make it through check in… she barely even made it to the lobby bathroom.

"Just because girls have bladders the size of a needle doesn't mean we have to delay our trip," Derek replied.

Casey and Sam just rolled their eyes at him and tried to get settled into their room. The room was small, but big enough to hold two full size beds, two nightstands and dressers, and a medium sized TV.

"So how much time do we have to relax and get ready?" Emily asked as she emerged from the bathroom.

"Well, since we're running ahead of schedule…" Derek began, to which he received a round of annoyed "De-rek!"s

They didn't understand why they had to leave so early in the morning and why he was adamant that if the stopped at a rest stop so the girls could pee, their whole schedule would be off. But he was persistent that if they didn't go according to his plan that the whole trip would be ruined. Now, they realized, he had just wanted to make things unnecessarily difficult for his own amusement.

"Anyway, they don't illuminate the falls until 9 at night, so we should probably head out around 8 or so," Derek finally answered. "That gives us about 8 hours to just chill out."

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><p><strong>Please Review!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all the reviews! You guys rock! Keep them coming. Just as a heads up, I'm going out of town and won't be back till Wednesday. So I won't be able to update until next week. Sorry!**

**Dark-Supernatural-Angel: **I don't know know about the mind-changing or the ulterior motives, but I'll say this; there may be some blossoming ;)

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing.**

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><p>"Oh, this is so cool," Sam said in awe as they all stood on the boat and looked at the sparkling, illuminated waterfall.<p>

Casey took a step back from the group and looked at them. Here they were enjoying such an amazing sight and all Casey could think about was how she was going to leave them all in 4 weeks. What was she going to do without them? What was she going to do without Derek? The question almost surprised her when it popped into her head, but she knew that at the end of the day, she was going to miss him the most. They were polar opposites and fought like cats and dogs, but they worked. He was the yin to her yang, the peanut butter to her jelly, the laidback to her crazy. Over the years, they had become really good friends. It may not have seems that way to many, but she depended a lot more on him than people realized. He was always there when it counted. Her friends and family were her everything, and now she was just supposed to pack up and leave them for a year?

She made her way to the other end of the boat. She needed sometime to compose herself before she went back to her friends. She looked up into the waterfall as she felt someone come up beside her.

"It really is beautiful, isn't it?' Casey asked.

"Yeah… it really is," Derek answered as he looked at her. He was suddenly struck by how naturally beautiful she was. He wasn't stupid though, he had always realized she was attractive… he might be clueless sometimes, but he was a man. But he hadn't ever taken the time to really look at her, and as he looked he always noticed her downcast expression.

"Case, we're on vacation… what the hell are you moping about? This is a mope-free trip."

"Sorry… I guess I just let my thoughts get to me," Casey responded.

"See? That's what happens when you think."

"How would you know what happens when someone thinks? You haven't thought a day of your life."

"Yeah, and look at me! I'm awesome."

"Whatever… but you're right, this is a mope-free road trip and I am determined to have fun every step of the way," Casey said confidently.

"That's a good Casey," Derek said as he patted her head.

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><p>"You need to keep your eyes on the road, Derek."<p>

"When did you turn into Casey," Derek said as he shifted his eyes from the back seat back to the road.

"I really don't know why you're stressing… you know that they're just friends," Emily responded as she glanced at Sam and Casey sleeping in the back seat. Casey was leaning on Sam while he had his arm around her and was leaning on the window.

"Who said I was stressed?" Derek asked as he glanced into the rearview mirror for what must have been the millionth time since Sam and Casey had fallen asleep.

"Anyway… what are we going to do in Altoona?"

"Something that I'm not really looking forward to," Derek muttered.

"Which is?"

"There's supposed to this really huge karaoke bar there."

"So if you don't want to go, why are we going?" Emily asked.

"Because Casey loves karaoke and Sam here (million and one looks into the rearview mirror) thought it might be nice if we did something she liked."

"Dude, that was all you," Sam said groggily as he started waking up. He stretched a little bit and started to play with Casey's hair while she slept, which did not go unnoticed by Derek.

"Whatever," Derek mumbled as a slight pink color rose to his cheeks.

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><p>"Altoona is such a weird name for a place," Sam said as he got ready to go out that night. Emily and Casey had gone to the Prince to get something she forgot while they had unloaded their stuff into the motel room. They had left Buffalo at almost dawn and had made it to Altoona, PA with enough time to get food, rest, and get cleaned up before they headed out to the karaoke bar.<p>

"It is, but maybe they have a lot of tuna here?" Derek replied.

"Wow, Derek, that was really lame," Casey said as the girls walked into the room.

Both girls immediately stopped at the sight before them when they were fully in the room. Sam was in towel, fresh from the shower, while Derek had managed to get pants on before they walked in. He was still shirtless, and his hair still looked damp from a shower. They couldn't help but ogle their lean, muscular bodies for a few seconds.

"Are you guys okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, um… we're… good," Casey answered.

"Great, actually," Emily added with a grin.

"Okaayy," said Derek as they guys shot them confused looks. Derek threw on a shirt and made his way downstairs to the vending machines, while Sam went into the bathroom to finish getting ready.

Emily and Casey turned to each other and squealed silently.

"Sometimes I forget how hot they are. Tell me again why we're not dating them anymore?" Emily whispered as she fixed hair her in the dresser mirror. Casey came to stand beside her and started applying a little bit of makeup.

"I know… though it is a little disturbing that Derek is as attractive as he is," Casey shuddered.

Emily just rolled her eyes in response.

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><p>"How are we getting in?" Emily asked as they stood outside the bar.<p>

Derek pulled out 4 cards with a smirk and handed one to each of them.

"Fake IDs!" Casey screeched.

"Keep it down, woman!" Derek said. "We're here because of you."

Casey pouted a little, but kept quiet until they entered the bar.

Once inside, the group found a table, and Derek ordered everyone some beers. It was a normal looking bar, except for the large stage in the middle. Someone was currently on it singing a mediocre rendition on a Tim McGraw song, but everyone seemed to be cheering and enjoying it anyway. Their drinks were placed in front of them, and Casey just frowned and stared at her beer. Meanwhile, Derek guzzled down his first drink and was soon asking for seconds.

"This sucks," Derek grumbled as he started on his second beer.

"What sucks?" Sam asked.

"Well, it's already bad enough that we're in a karaoke joint… but apparently, it a _country _karaoke bar."

"I love watching Derek being miserable," Casey said with a dreamy look on her face as she dragged Emily to choose songs for them to sing. Derek glared at her retreating figure while muttering profanities under his breath.

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><p>"Up next, we've got Casey and Emily all the way from Canada!" The announcer yelled into the crowd.<p>

The girls made their way to the stage, grabbed their microphones, and faced the crowd. The music started to play, and the bar patrons quickly recognized it as Last Name by Carrie Underwood. Casey and Emily danced around the crowd and had them on their feet dancing along with them. Derek and Sam stared in awe.

"They're…" Derek started.

"Hot!" Sam finished.

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><p>"Go on up, I'll bring the little drunkard in," Derek said to Emily and Sam as they got out of the car. Even though she had been the most against it, Casey had had way too much to drink and was making it difficult for him Derek to get her out of the car.<p>

"I had soooo much f-fun," Casey slurred as Derek lifted her up bridal style.

"Yeah, I still can't believe that the Queen of Keeners got drunk," Derek muttered.

"Mmmm, you smell good… all manly and stuff… I like it," Casey whispered as she ran her nose down his neck.

"I'm so going to pretend that this isn't happening right," he said with his eyes closed.

"I totally have a confession to make. I—"

"Stop, don't finish that, Case because you're going to wake tomorrow morning and regret it," Derek said as he stared into her eyes. Casey just stared back and seemed sober up a little.

"You can, um, put me down."

Derek kept his arm around her waist and they walked to the motel slowly and silently.

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><p>"I refuse to drive until you have your seatbelt on," Casey insisted for about the tenth time.<p>

"That's fine. I don't want you driving anyway," Derek responded.

"Dammit, Derek! Just put the stupid seatbelt on!" Emily yelled.

Suddenly, Emily found herself staring back at six shocked pair of eyes.

"What? I just want to get to the damn beach."

Derek slowly put his seatbelt on as Casey pulled out of the parking lot.

"Someone's hungover from last night," Sam mumbled.

"I heard that," Emily said as she elbowed him. "If anyone should be dying from a hangover right now, it should be Casey."

"So I drank a little too much, so what? I wanted my first time getting wasted to be special and shared with people I care about," Casey explained.

"Are we talking about getting drunk, or getting laid?" Derek asked, making Casey blush.

"I swear, your sole purpose in life is to make me feel uncomfortable."

"Yes. Yes it is," Derek said smirking.

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><p><strong>Please Review!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! I'm back! Sorry it's taken so long... I've been recovering from my trip. Anyway, I want to thank all of you for your reviews. It means a lot!**

**Just in case it's not clear, they left Altoona and are now in Washington D.C. **

**I warn you that I've lost my groove a little bit, so I'm sorry if this chapter isn't very good. **

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing!**

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><p>"I want to see Dorothy's shoes," Emily stated as they pulled up to the museums in Washington D.C.<p>

"Excuse me?" Derek asked.

"Dorothy's shoes? You know? The red sparkly ones that Dorothy wears and clicks her heels three times and says 'there's no place like home'?"

"Yeah, I got that… It was more of an 'excuse me, are you delusional?' because there's no way I'm going to go see some shoes from an old kid's movie," he answered as he turned towards the back seat.

"Oh, come on. Please?" Emily asked batting her eyelashes flirtatiously as she leaned forward in between the two front seats.

Derek gave Emily her infamous smirk and said, "I guess I can make an exception for you," as Casey rolled her eyes in annoyance at the spectacle.

"There are more important things to see here that sparkly shoes," Casey said.

"Damn, what crawled up your butt?" Derek asked.

"Don't be vulgar, Derek. I'm just saying that these museums have really important and interesting historical exhibits which would be a lot more educational than looking at movie props."

"And the keener strikes again!"

"Guys, we have enough time to see everything. We don't leave until tomorrow night," Sam stated calmly.

Sam was always the voice of reason in the group. That's not to say that he never got caught up in the mayhem. It was just that he was the most levelheaded of all of them. Casey turned around and smiled at Sam. He had always been a good friend, even during that awkward period right after their breakup. Sometimes she wished that things had worked out between them because he was such an amazing guy, but she knew that they were better as friends. Someday he would make another woman very happy.

"Sam's right. I'm sorry, Emily. I know how excited you've been about the pop culture exhibit. I'm cranky from being tired," Casey smiled at Emily.

"Hon, you don't need to apologize. I was going to go no matter what."

Everyone laughed at that, and they left the car and made their way to the first museum. Casey lagged behind the group and watched everyone walk ahead of her. She felt bugged for some reason. She watched as Derek put his arm around Emily and strode into the first museum. Hadn't they broken up? She didn't go around flirting with every guy she had ever dated, so why did Derek and Emily feel it was appropriate to behave in such a manner?

"Case, are you alright?" Sam asked as he waited for her to catch up to him.

"Yeah, I'm good. Like I said, I'm just tired. You know how I get when I don't get my full 7 hours," she tried to joke.

"Casey, I consider you one of my best friends, though don't tell Derek that. Anyway, I hope that you feel the same way (Casey nodded emphatically), then you know you can tell me anything, right?"

They had stopped just inside the museum as Derek and Emily walked on to the first exhibit. Casey was about to dismiss it again, but suddenly she felt the words come out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"Did we act like that after we broke up?"

"Act like what?" Sam asked puzzled.

"Like Derek and Emily."

"And how do they act?"

"Well, they're all over each other as if nothing has changed between them," Casey answered. "Did we act like that?"

"Um… no, but we were younger and I don't think we knew how to deal with it right away."

"Good point."

"Plus, our breakup wasn't completely mutual, like theirs was," Sam added.

"What are you talking about? We both agreed that we didn't work as a couple."

"No… if you remember correctly, I still wanted to get back together with you. It may have been against my better judgment, but in the end it was you that really ended it."

"Oh… right. You know I wanted it to work, right?"

"Case, it was like 3 years ago… things worked out for the best, don't you think?"

"Yes, I suppose they did," Casey smiled. Sam stepped in and pulled Casey into an affectionate embrace. He leaned into her ear and whispered, "I'm here for you, Casey. I always will be. And I don't really know what's going on, but know that you can tell me anything at any time."

Casey's smile grew bigger. She was really fortunate to have such an amazing friend. Would she make any friends in New York? Anything remotely close to what she had with Emily, Sam and even Derek? She stopped her train of thought immediately. She promised Derek that she would not think depressing thoughts about her leaving.

At that moment, Derek walked up to find Sam and Casey in tight hug. He didn't know why, but he didn't like it one bit.

"Am I interrupting something?" Derek asked annoyed.

"Nope, we're done here," Sam said as he pulled back. "Right?"

"Yeah… um, Derek? Where's Emily?" Casey asked.

"I left her by those damn shoes."

"You left her alone in a huge museum, filled with thousands of people in a strange city? Are you crazy?" Casey shrieked.

'There's the Casey we all know and love,' thought Sam as he grinned at the two arguing.

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><p>"You had fun, admit it," Sam said as they sat in the restaurant, waiting for the girls to come back from the bathroom.<p>

"I said it was okay, man. Let's just leave it at that," Derek answered. He hesitated as he tried to figure out how to broach the next subject. "So, uh, you and Casey, is there something going on there?"

"Really? You're really asking me that right now? Of course not, dude! That shipped sailed a long time ago."

"Well, you guys looked pretty cozy earlier today."

"It was a hug. Ok, let me ask you this: is there anything going on with you and Emily?"

"No, and you know that."

"Yet, you guys flirt like there is."

"We're just comfortable enough around each other."

"And me and Casey are comfortable around each other too. Dude, if there was something going on between me and Casey, I hope you know I would tell you, but there isn't and there never will be. I love her (Derek's eyes bugged out at the declaration), but not like that. She's a really good friend and I care about her as a friend."

"I was just asking," Derek shrugged.

"Uh huh… since when have you been this protective of Casey? I mean, I know that you've always looked out for, but you seem to have taken it up a notch lately."

Derek was getting ready to answer when the girls finally came back to their table. It would have been a lie if he said he wasn't a little relieved. He wasn't sure he completely knew the answer to that question.

"I am exhausted!" Emily exclaimed.

"Me too, why couldn't we have just ordered room service?" Casey asked.

"Do you know how expensive that it?" Derek answered. "If someone wasn't so opposed to fast food, we could have been relaxing in the room."

"Uh, hello? Where you not there that day in health class when they showed us Supersize Me? I'm not trying to die prematurely."

"I don't think eating fast food one during a road trip is going to kill you, Case," Sam interjected.

"You'll all thank me for this in like 20 years."

"Whatever, keener."

"I don't know if I can make it through the fireworks," Emily said.

"What? But we have to go! How often can you say that you've seen a fireworks show in Washington D.C. surrounded by amazing historical monuments?" Casey asked.

"No offense, Casey, but I think you're the only one who cares," Emily responded.

"Fine. Don't you want to see pretty lights go boom in the sky?" Casey asked as if she was talking to a child.

"I'm going to be nice and blame that on exhaustion," responded Emily slightly perturbed.

Sam and Derek tried to hold in their laughter, but Derek couldn't help but guffaw loudly.

"You girls need a nap," he added between laughs.

"And a time out!" Sam said as he too struggled to get his laughter under control.

"Apparently, we're not the only ones that could use a nap," Casey whispered loudly to Emily.

"I know, right?"

* * *

><p>"I'm so glad we decided to go back to the hotel to rest a little," Casey said.<p>

"Me too, you guys were acting ridiculous… I don't think I've seen guys your age laugh so hard that they almost wet themselves," Emily added.

"What do you mean 'almost'?" Derek joked.

"Ewwww," the girls answered in unison.

"Come on, let's try to find a spot," Sam said to move them along.

The fireworks were taking place right by the Lincoln Memorial, and it was packed. Bodies were huddled together closely, and they immediately felt the added heat from all the body heat. Sam led the way, followed closely by Emily, Derek, and lastly Casey. She seemed to be hesitant to move through the crowd.

"What's the matter?" Derek said as he rolled his eyes.

"It's just that… I'm already hot and sweaty and I don't really care to add to my discomfort," she said as she wiped her forehead for emphasis.

"Quit being a princess," he said as he grabbed her hand to lead her forward.

As soon as he grabbed her hand she tried to wrench it away, but Derek just held on tighter. They caught up to Sam and Emily, and they eventually found a spot big enough for all four of them to stand. Casey was very aware of her hand still in Derek's, but she wasn't feeling that earlier eagerness of pulling it away. For some reason, she was kind of hoping that he wouldn't let go anytime soon. Unfortunately, Derek soon realized that he was still holding her hand and reluctantly let it go. Casey ignored the slight disappointment she felt and looked to the sky in anticipation.

* * *

><p>"I don't really feel like going inside yet," Casey sighed as they pulled up to the hotel.<p>

"It's almost midnight, and you look like a wet dog from all the sweat. Where exactly were you planning on going?" Derek asked.

"Oh how your words flatter me so," Casey responded sarcastically. "I just want to enjoy the night a little longer… maybe sit by the pool or something."

"Aren't you tired?" Sam asked.

"A little… but I'm still a little wound up."

"Well, I'm going to bed. We still have the other half of the museums left tomorrow and then more driving. I will kill you all if I don't get sleep right now," Emily said.

"It's only the pool. I can go by myself."

As they walked into the room, Sam and Emily immediately got ready for bed (or in Sam's case fell onto the bed upon entering) while Casey went to find her bathing suit. As she gathered her things to change in the bathroom, Derek walked into the bathroom first with a change of clothes. Almost two minutes later, he walked out wearing his swim trunks and a t-shirt.

"What are you doing?" Casey asked.

"I'm going with you," Derek stated plainly.

"Um, why?"

"You really think I'm going to let you go to the pool by yourself at midnight?"

"Actually, yes I did."

"Well, you thought wrong, princess."

Casey walked past him into the bathroom as she muttered a "whatever" under her breath. In a few minutes, Casey and Derek walked out of the room, leaving a snoring Sam and a passed out Emily.

* * *

><p>"Do you remember the time when you helped me lie about my science project, and we made up that whole dog dying story?" Casey asked as she started laughing.<p>

"Oh yeah! I don't think I've ever had a lie get that out of hand. What about the time when Dad bet me I couldn't be nice for a week? I swear, that had to have been the hardest week of my life," Derek responded.

"Yeah, I remember. You were the one that helped me realize that I needed to break up with Max."

"Oh come on! We were supposed to be thinking about funny stories! Now you've ruined it by bringing up mushy stuff."

"It was not mushy! I was just stating a fact!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he said as he splashed her in the face.

"De-rek!" she responded as he splashed him back.

Soon, the pool was filled with loud splashes, shrieking and laughter. Derek picked up Casey and threw her into the pool while Casey tried to dunk him under the water. Derek was happy that he was able to have this time with her to himself. He would never admit, but he enjoyed the private moments they shared when she would let loose a little bit. It was like she was truly being herself and he was the only one that got to see it. But he still enjoyed uptight, keener Casey. She was the one that was easier to annoy and prank.

Eventually, they both ran out breath and swam to the edge of the pool. After drying off and gathering their things, they decided it was really too late to be up any longer and started walking back to the room.

"Thanks for coming with me, even though you didn't have to and I really didn't want you to."

"It's whatever," Derek answered.

Casey smiled and rummaged through her things to get the room key. Derek pulled his out before she could find it, and help it up in front of her face. She looked up and met his eyes instead of the key and was suddenly struck by the depth of his eyes. She had never noticed how much emotion they held, or the unique shade of brown they were. Soon, she realized that his face was a lot closer than it had been. Before she knew it, she could feel his breath on her face and her eyes fluttered closed at the sensation. Derek didn't really understand what was going on or why it was happening, but he felt himself moving closer to her. As soon as her eyes shut, he lost all coherent thought and leaned in to brush his lips against hers. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion; Casey leaned in further to deepen the kiss, while Derek moved his hands to rest on her hips. The kiss became more passionate, and soon Derek could feel her tongue lick his bottom lip. He let her tongue roam in his mouth while he too began to explore her mouth with his. Hands were touching skin, their bodies were on fire and neither seemed to want to come up for air. A door at the end of the hall shut loudly, and they quickly jumped apart as though they had been burned. Whoever had shut the door walked to the elevator, got on, and left a shocked Derek and Casey staring at each other.

"That NEVER happened," Casey said firmly.

"What are you talking about? I have no recollection of the last few minutes of my life," Derek answered playing along.

"Good."

They entered the room quickly, got ready for bed and thought of what "didn't" happen as they tried to fall asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


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